| 释义 |
▪ I. sir, n.|sɜː(r)|
[Reduced form of sire sire n., the shortening being due to the absence of stress before the following name or appellation. The forms sore, sur(e may represent OF. sor or sieur, the oblique case of sire.]
A. Illustration of forms.
(α) 4– sir (6 sirr, 6–7 Sr), 5–7 syr.
1297–(see examples in B).
(β) 3–6 ser, 4–5 sere.
a1300Cursor M. 27450 Sere biscop, ta god kepe. c1386Chaucer Sir Thopas 6 (Cambr.), His name was sere Thopas. a1400–50Alexander 182 Seses, seris, of ȝour syte. c1444J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. iv. v. 441 This grete noyse, seres, what may it bee? 1451― Life St. Gilbert 112 The fayre tour..whech þou say, Ser Pope, is þe grete excellens of þi dignite. 1509in Scott. Jrnl. Topogr. (1848) II. 120/2 Ser Wilȝeam Synclair of Wairseytt, Kny[ch]t.
(γ) 5 sur, sure, sore.
a1400Arthur 285 Hys worthynesse, sur Emperour, Passeþ Muche alle ȝowre. a1400Sir Degrev. 289 The doughty knyght sure Degrevaunt. c1410Sir Cleges 443 Sore, for thy corteci, Smyghte me no more! c1425Abraham's Sacr. 435 in Non-Cycle Myst. Plays, Lo! sovereyns and sorys, now haue we schowyd [etc.].
(δ) Sc. 4–5 scher(e, 5 schyr, 5–6 schir (5 shir).
In later Sc. also stir (cf. stirrah).
1375Barbour Bruce xvii. 494 Till schir Robert the douchty king. 1396in Scott. Antiq. XIV. 217 Scher Henry Synclar, Erle of Orkynnay. c1425Wyntoun Cron. ix. xviii. 125 Schirris, I thank God and al ȝow. c1459Regist. de Aberbrothoc (Bann.) II. 105 Honorabile and wirschypful schyris. 1473Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scotl. I. 43 A lettre to Schire James Ogilvy of Erly. 1550Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 84 Schir George Douglas of Pettindreicht Knycht. 1574Satir. Poems Reform. xlii. 6 Schirs, is thair ony heir Quhais lornay lyes unto Dundie?
B. Signification.
I.
1. a. The distinctive title of honour of a knight or a baronet, placed before the Christian name († rarely the surname).
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10822 Sir hubert de boru & oþere þat in prison were ido. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 387 Sir Gawan, so mot I þryue,..Þis dint þat þou schal dryue. c1386Chaucer Sir Thopas 6 (Lansd.), A knyht was faire and gent.., His name was sir Thopas. c1440Contin. Brut (1908) 437 Sir Henry Beauford, Cardynall, and Bisshop of Winchestre. 1488–94Ld. Fitzwalter in Paston Lett. III. 343 Zowir lofyng cosyn, J. Sir Fytz Wauter. 1556Chron. Grey Friars (Camden) 41 The lady Margarete Bowmer wyffe unto sir John Bowmer,..but she was the wyffe of one Cheyny, for he solde hare unto sir Bowmer. 1596Spenser State Irel. (Globe) 667/2 [A grant] of New-castell to Sir Henry Harrington, and of..Fearnes to Sir Thomas Masterson. 1627Hakewill Apol. (1630) 272 Sir Drake whom well the worlds end knew. 1645Symonds Diary (Camden) 217 Sir Nich. Kemys was governour when Gerard came. 1711Addison Spect. No 112 ⁋2 My Friend Sir Roger, being a good Churchman [etc.]. 1819Shelley Peter Bell 3rd vi. xv, He never read them;—with amaze I found Sir William Drummond had. 1899Fitzpatrick Transvaal fr. within (1900) 286 Sir Alfred Milner..commanded the entire confidence of the Uitlanders.
b. In transf. uses, as Sir Harry, Sir John, Sir Sydney, Sir Timothy (see quots.); Sir Berkeley coarse slang [after Berkeley Hunt: see berk], the female genital organs; hence transf., sexual intercourse, ‘sex’; Sir Garnet: see Garnet5.
See also barleycorn 1 b and Roger de Coverley.
a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Sir Timothy, one that Treats every Body, and Pays the Reckonings every where. 1808Jamieson, Sir John, a close stool. 1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Sir Sydney, a clasp knife. a1825Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Sir Harry, a close-stool. 1937J. Curtis There ain't no Justice xvii. 175 She gives me plenty of the old Sir Berkeley, but she knows how to look after herself, I guess.
2. Applied retrospectively to notable personages of ancient, esp. sacred or classical, history. Now only arch.
a1300Cursor M. 4249 Sir putifar wel vndirstod þat ioseph was o gentil blod. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace 24 Sen þe tyme of sir Noe. c1400Sc. Trojan War (Horstm.) i. 215 Jasone, the gentile, With hys falow, schyr Hercules. c1440York Myst. xxx. 208 We will prese to Sir Pilate. c1475Henryson Orpheus & Eurydice 116 At þe last schir orpheus couth heir. 1513Douglas æneid vii. v. 110 Schir Dardanus, born of this cuntre eik. 1582Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 71 Woorthye syr æneas, why..teare you A caytiefe forlorne?.. I am named syr Polydor. 1598Shakes. Merry W. i. iii. 83 Shall I Sir Pandarus of Troy become? Ibid. ii. i. 122 Goe thou like Sir Acteon. 1821Scott Kenilw. xxxii, The valiant Sir Pandarus of Troy. 1881R. F. Burton tr. Camoens' Lusiad iv. 23 The Oriental hordes..Wherewith Sir Xerxes crost the Hellespont.
3. a. Used fancifully, or as a mock title.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 82 Þe Deede was a-selet, Be siht of sir Symoni. a1500Bernard. de cura rei fam. (E.E.T.S.) 13 Schir drunkyiness þat syre doys no thing rycht. 1567Jewel Def. Apol. v. 561 Here, yee saie, ‘Sir Defender is pretily seene in humanitie’. 1581T. Howell Deuises (1879) 185 Tyll syr Phebus beames shall lose their light. 1592Greene Disput. Wks. (Grosart) X. 254 Though the other youth beare the charges and was made sir pay for all. 1600Shakes. Merch. V. i. i. 93 (Qq.), I am sir Oracle, And when I ope my lips, let no dog barke. 1610― Temp. ii. i. 286 This Sir Prudence, who Should not vpbraid our course. 1781Cowper Hope 416 Lowest at the board..sat Sir Smug. 1822Shelley Faust ii. 114 Does not Sir Mammon gloriously illuminate His palace for this festival? Ibid. 150 Sir Urian is sitting aloft in the air. 1879Farrar in Expositor IX. 214 He suddenly confounds the highly self-satisfied Sir-oracle.
b. Sir Rag (see quots.).
1764in N. & Q. 7th Ser. XII. 29/1 Thomas Hunt, from Leicester (a Sir-Rag to a Waggoner), died at y⊇ George. 1891Ibid. 132/2 A dusty set of tatterdemalions..constantly attended fairs and race-courses, and these poor scarecrows used to be called in my young days ‘Sir-Rags’. Ibid., In the Midland Counties..the chief of a band of servants or workers, a foreman or overseer,..is the ‘sir-rag’. Ibid. 133/1 Sometimes he or she is the ‘head sir-rag’, or, as some put it, ‘head sir-rag, chief cork and bottle-washer’. 1901J. Prior Forest Folk ii. 18 He looks at a body as if he were head Sir Rag.
†4. Placed before the Christian name of ordinary priests (also that of a pope). Obs. (Cf. sire n. 1 b, and Dan1 a.)
It has been supposed that this use arose out of sense 5, but there appears to be no evidence for this, although the title (at least in later times) was clearly used in contrast to Master, and denoted that the priest had not graduated in a university. For the generalized use of Sir John see John 3.
c1386[see John 3]. c1425Wyntoun Cron. vii. vii. 207 Kynge Henry..wrat richt reuerendly Til þe pape Schir Adryane. 1450Paston Lett. I. 170 Sir John Bukk, Parson of Stratford, physshed my stankys at Dedham. 1511–2Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 277 To sir Robert for Candell to sey his matens in the mornynges. 1550Bale Image Both Ch. ii. f vj, The most ragged ronnagate, and idle idiote among theym, is no lesse then a syr, whiche is a Lord in the Latin, as syr John, syr Thomas, syr Wylliam. 1554Hilarie Resurr. Masse A viij, My smered Chaplens..I make them to be called Syrs euery one. 1573Tyrie (title), The Refutation of ane Ansver made be schir Johne Knox. 1595? Greene George a Greene 1191 Well preacht sir Iacke, downe with your staffe. 1635[see John 3].
†5. Used (as a rendering of L. dominus), with the surname of the person, to designate a Bachelor of Arts in some Universities. Obs.
1557in Lamb Collect. Hist. Univ. Camb. (1838) 229 Mr Turner, Father, Syr Whytgyfte the bachelor, Syr Bryges the eldest son. 1575in Fowler Hist. C.C.C. (O.H.S.) 150 Too Sr huker of Corpus christie college in Oxforde. 1614Selden Titles Honor 54 How Dominus..is now familiar for Sir to euery Batchelor of Art in the Schools, all men know. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. 71 Hall and his Popish faction (whereof Mr. Potto, Mr. Binnion, and Sr. Appleby the Leaders) opposed his admission. 1690S. Sewall Diary 2 July, Sir Mather in England yet had a Degree conferred on him. 1714in Aubrey Lett. (1814) I. 294 Pray, Sir, will you do so much as send to Sir Wilkinson of Queen's? 1763in Pierce Hist. Harvard Univ. 234 (Cent. Dict.), That Sir Sewall, B.A., be the Instructor in the Hebrew and other learned languages for three years. 1822Nares s.v. Sir, At the Universities..a bachelor, who in the books stood Dominus Brown, was in conversation called Sir Brown. This was in use in some colleges even in my memory.
II.
6. a. Placed before a common noun, and forming with it a term of address, as Sir clerk, Sir king, Sir knight, etc. Now arch.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10282 Sir king,..we beþ icome fram verre londe iwis. Ibid. 10309 Nou sir clerc, quaþ þe king, ȝe mowe þretni ynou. c1330Amis & Amil. 757 Sir knight,..Whi seystow euer nay? c1400Rom. Rose 6390 Sir Preest, in shrift I telle it thee, That he..Hath me assoiled. 14..Chaucer's Doctor's Prol. 10 Sir Doctour of Phisyke.., Telle us a tale. c1440York Myst. xxx. 211 Sir Knyghtis [sc. Roman soldiers], þat are curtayse and kynde. 1591Spenser M. Hubberd 589 Ah! sir Mule, now blessed be the day [etc.]. Ibid. 1033 Nay (said the Foxe) Sir Ape, you are astray. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. iii. iv. 298, I am one, that had rather go with sir Priest, then sir knight. 1611― Wint. T. i. ii. 135 Come (Sir Page) Looke on me with your Welkin eye. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xliv, ‘Sir knight,’ replied the baron, ‘how is it possible that’ [etc.] ? 1820Scott Monast. xxxiii, Saint Mary! what call you yon, Sir Monk? 1842Tennyson Morte d'Arthur 152 Sir King, I closed mine eyelids, lest the gems Should blind my purpose. 1865Kingsley Herew. iv, Now, then, sir priest,..go on with your story. 1939Sun (Baltimore) 30 Sept. 7/8 We stand here today to watch you, sir knights, just in friendly tournament. 1977Belfast Tel. 19 Jan. 2/4 The Officers and Sir Knights of the United Sons of Ulster R.B.P. 1041, regret the death of the Sister of their esteemed Sir Knight Robert Scott, P.M.
transf.1826Scott Jrnl. 14 May, Look where you will, Sir Sun, you look upon sorrow and suffering.
b. With contemptuous, ironic, or irate force.
c1386Chaucer Wife's Prol. 242 (Harl.), Sir [v.r. Sire] olde lecchour, let thi japes be. a1529Skelton Against Scottes 101 Syr skyrgalyard, ye were so skyt [etc.]. 1591Troublesome Raigne of King John (1611) 27 Lim. Good words sir sauce, your betters are in place. Phil. Not you sir doughtie, with your Lyons case. 1599Shakes. Much Ado v. i. 83 Come sir boy, come follow me Sir boy, ile whip you from your foyning fence. 1759Sterne Tr. Shandy ii. ii, So, Sir Critic, I could have replied; but I scorn it. 1825Scott Betrothed xxix, ‘How, sir knave!’ said the King, angrily, ‘is it for such as thou to dictate to our judgment?’
7. a. Used as a respectful term of address to a superior or, in later use, an equal (sometimes with additions as dear, † fair, † gentle, good); also by schoolchildren in addressing a master, and formally in addressing the Speaker of a legislative assembly.
1320–30Horn Ch. 721 Sir, miȝtestow hold him to þi nede,..Batayle miȝt þou bide. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xli. (Agnes) 102 Certis, gud sir, maryt ame I. c1460Towneley Myst. iv. 228 Hir answere bese belife—‘nay, sir!’ 1509Fisher Fun. Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 307 But ye wyll say vnto me, Syr yf we were sure of this we wolde not be sory. 1535Coverdale Ruth ii. 13 She sayde: let me fynde fauoure (syr) before thyne eyes. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. i. ii. 57 The Sadler had it Sir, I kept it not. 1638Chillingw. Relig. Prot. i. ii. 97 For Gods sake, Sr, tell me plainly. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ Ded. 11 You see, Sir, to what an unexpected length my desire to vindicate [etc.]. 1709Steele Tatler No. 45 ⁋1, I heard a Voice cry, Sir, Sir!—This raised my Curiosity. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xliv, ‘Dear Sir!’ said Henri, ‘here is an armchair..massy with gilding’. 1838Dickens Nich. Nick. (1839) viii. 69 ‘Third boy, what's a horse?’ ‘A beast, Sir,’ replied the boy. 1849Thackeray Pendennis x, ‘Sir to you,’ said Mr. Foker politely. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 627 ‘Aye, aye, sir,’ is the well⁓known answer from seamen. 1873in Hansard Parl. Deb. 31 July 1389/1, I rise, Sir,..to make the Indian Financial Statement. 1899Kipling Stalky 108 Please, sir, what am I to do about prep.? a1930D. H. Lawrence Phoenix II (1968) 25 Please Sir, do tortoises bite? 1955E. Blishen Roaring Boys i. 31 ‘The cane,’ said Sims vaguely. ‘Sir can't,’ said Pottell... ‘Is it because you're too young, sir?’ 1974‘J. le Carré’ Tinker, Tailor xiv. 118 ‘Sir, please sir, I think he's to do with the church, sir,’ said Cole Slaw. ‘I saw him, talking to Wells Fargo, sir, after the service.’
b. In pl., used in addressing two or more persons. In Scottish use passing into a mere exclamation (see the later quots.).
c1400Destr. Troy 4907 Þerfore, sirs,..Let make vs a message. 1459Rolls Parlt. V. 369/2 Sirres, be mery, for yet we have moo frendis. c1500Adam Bel cxiv. in Child Ballads III. 27/2 Good syrs, of whens be ye? 1615Ruggle Ignoramus iv. (1736) 50 Goodly, Sirs,..I shou'd have sworn it had been my Master Antonio. 1766Fordyce Serm. Young Wom. (1767) I. vii. 304 Have you forgotten, Sirs, that what they see you admire,..they will be induced to think..worthy of admiration? 1816Scott Old Mort. xxxix, ‘But eh, sirs,’ she continued,..‘Eh, sirs! ye're sair altered, hinny’. 1825Jamieson Suppl., Sirs, Sirse, Serse, interj., a common mode of address to a number of persons, although of both sexes; often pron. q. Sirce. 1894Crockett Raiders (ed. 3) 96 Eh, sirce, but there's mony wonderfu' things in the warld.
c. Used in commencing or subscribing letters.
1425Paston Lett. I. 19 Right worthy and worshepefull Sir. a1448Ibid. 71 Syr, I recummawnd me to zow. 1535Starkey England (1878) p. xiii, Syr, I most hertely commend me vn to you. 1568Peebles Burgh Rec. (1872) 73 His supplicatioun..:—Schirris, baillies, counsale, and communite of the burgh. 1628Ussher in Lett. Emin. Lit. Men (Camden) 138 Deare Sir, I know not who should beginne first [etc.]. 1655in Nicholas P. (Camden) 300 Which I shall desire you to keepe for y⊇ use of, Sir, Your..humble seruant, Robert Phelipps. 1745J. Elton in Hanway Trav. (1762) I. v. lxvii. 304 Sirs, I have been acquainted with your resolutions of August last. 1789Burns Let. to Cunningham 4 May, My dear Sir, Your duty-free favour..I received two days ago. 1822Lamb To J. Taylor 7 Dec., Dear Sir, I should like the enclosed Dedication to be printed. 1861Brewster in Mrs. Gordon Home Life xix. (1869) 345 Sir,—I have only this moment seen..an advertisement of your picture [etc.].
8. a. Used with scornful, contemptuous, indignant, or defiant force. (Cf. sirrah.)
1592Greene Conny Catch. Wks. (Grosart) XI. 84, I..account thee no honest man: For sir know I haue learned your pettegree. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. i. i. 80 Well sir, get you in: I will not long be troubled with you. 1632Massinger City Madam ii. ii, Lacy. By the city custom, madam? Lady. Yes, my young sir. 1675Baxter Cath. Theol. ii. xiii. 283 Sir, the City ringeth of you as one that greatly wrongeth the cause of God. 1782in Brit. Tourist (1809) IV. 119 Sir! in a surly tone, [signifies] a box on the ear at your service!—to a dog it means a good beating. 1824Scott St. Ronan's xxx, Sir, this is either a very great mistake or wilful impertinence... I am Captain Jekyl, sir. 1855J. D. Burn Autobiogr. Beggar Boy (1859) 44 His uniform manner of addressing me was, by the withering and degrading title of ‘sir!’ 1861Geo. Eliot Silas M. ix, I've been too good a father to you all... But I shall pull up, sir.
b. my dear sir, in remonstrance or expostulation.
1768Sterne Sent. Journ. I. 38 Figure to yourself, my dear Sir, that in giving you a chaise which would fall to pieces before you had got half way to Paris..how much I should suffer. 1776Critical Rev. XLII. 89 It is usual, we are told, with the Scots..to address the person with whom they converse by the appellation My dear Sir. 1825R. P. Ward Tremaine II. xxvi. 238 ‘And, indeed, my dear Sir—’ ‘I won't be Sir'd,’ cried the Doctor. 1893G. B. Shaw Widowers' Houses ii. iii. 43 Sartorius: Will you excuse me for ten minutes? Cokane: My dear sir!—Trench: Certainly. 1983A. Venters Blood on Rocks xiii. 122 ‘You must have something to eat, my dear sir,’ he cried.
c. yes, sir: an emphatic assertion; no, sir: see nossir. Chiefly U.S. colloq.
1799Aurora (Philadelphia) 8 Aug. (Th.), Yes Sir! and [France] has been successful beyond any former experience. 1889‘C. E. Craddock’ Despot of Broomsedge Cove 40 Yes, sir... None like 'em now. 1929W. Faulkner Sartoris ii. v. 124 ‘Yes sir,’ he repeated, ‘he's sure some joker.’ 1942J. B. Priestley in R.A.F. Jrnl. 3 Oct. 2, I could take it and I could dish it out. Yes, Sir!
9. Applied to women. Now dial.
1578Whetstone Promos & Cassandra i. iv. vii, [To Dalia.] Ah syr, you would, be like, let my Cocke Sparrow goe. 1611Beaum. & Fl. King & No K. ii. i, Pan. [to waiting⁓women]. Sirs, leave me all. (Exeunt Women.) 1621Fletcher Pilgr. ii. i, Juletta. Would you know o' me, Sir? Alphonso. O' thee, Sir? ay, o' thee, sir; What art thou, Sir? 1688Crowne Darius ii. Dram. Wks. 1874 III. 411 Barzana [to her confidante, Oronte]. How ill you dress me, sir? 1818S. E. Ferrier Marriage ii, ‘And ye tu bonny sir,’ addressing Lady Juliana.
10. a. A person of rank or importance (more recently, also spec. a knight or baronet); a lord, a gentleman; one who might be addressed as ‘sir’.
In early use equivalent to sire; in later examples usually by direct transference from sense 7.
13..Coer de L. 3567 Whos hed it was my seres aske? c1500Young Children's Bk. 88 in Babees Bk., Wer-euer þou commys, speke honestly To ser or dame. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xvii. 20 Taking with him to accompanie him the sir of S. Veran. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. iii. iv. 81 A sad face, a reuerend carriage,..in the habite of some Sir of note. 1611― Cymb. i. vi. 160 A Lady to the worthiest Sir, that euer Country call'd his. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 45 In one of their open Pagods..stands a Venerable Sir at the upper end. 1703Rowe Fair Penit. ii. ii, A talking Sir that brawls for him in Taverns. 1740–1Richardson Pamela II. 354 On Tuesday Morning, my dear Sir rode out, attended by Abraham. 1847Tennyson Princ. Concl. 102 Why should not these great Sirs Give up their parks some dozen times a year? 1854Emerson Lett. & Soc. Aims, Poet. & Imag., Our little sir, from his first tottering steps,..does not like to be practised upon. 1922W. J. Locke Tale of Triona i. 9 A proud old Anglo-Indian family, all Generals and Colonels and Sirs and Ladies. 1952‘W. Cooper’ Struggles of Albert Woods iv. i. 202 Albert thought..there must be a connection between Jameson's appointments and his becoming a Sir. 1974P. Gore-Booth With Great Truth & Respect 374, I argued hard and explicitly on behalf of my diplomatic colleagues because becoming a ‘Sir’ is one of the tools of the trade.
b. spec. a schoolmaster. colloq. or humorous.
1955[see sense 7 a above]. 1961Guardian 1 Dec. 7/2 [The] users will be grateful to Sir for providing..a smashing set of answers. 1968,1973[see Miss n.2 3 f]. 1980Daily Tel. 31 Mar. 10/3 Sir never repeated any part of a question.
11. A parson or priest. Now dial. (Cf. 4.)
1591Spenser M. Hubberd 390 But this good Sir did follow the plaine word. 1869Lonsdale Gloss. 74/2 ‘Here's t' sir cumman’ = Here's the clergyman coming.
▪ II. sir, v.|sɜː(r)|
[f. prec.]
1. trans. To address (a person) as ‘sir’. Also with up.
1576R. Peterson Galateo (1892) 47 He that is wont to be (Sird) and likewise (Sirreth) other. 16001st Pt. Sir J. Oldcastle ii. i, Sum. Sir, I brought it not my lord to eate. Harp. O, do you sir me now? 1722De Foe Relig. Courtsh. i. ii. (1840) 68 Don't worship me and sir me now. 1748Richardson Clarissa (1768) I. viii. 43 My Brother and Sister..Sirr'd him up, at every word. 1806–7Poet. Reg. 179 Learn..To frown importance while they cap and sir ye. 1861P. Leys Mem. J. D. Maclaren v. 94 In his kind and sincere way he sirred some cabman, porter, or poor man. 1890L. D'Oyle Notches 8 ‘I don't know, sir, I'm sure,’ said the stranger... ‘Don't sir me! don't you know my name?’
2. intr. To use the term ‘sir’ in addressing a person.
1798Southey To M. Hill 7 Sir-ing and Madam-ing as civilly As if the road between the heart and lips Were..a weary and Laplandish way.
Hence ˈsirring vbl. n.
1836W. E. Forster in Reid Life (1888) I. 76 [He is] remarkably civil to me, and he gives me such quantities of sirrings—that is, he says sir so often.
▪ III. sir
obs. f. sire n. |